Friday, December 19, 2014

Chocolate Cranberry Walnut Cake

This is a very easy but festive cake if you need a quick
dessert to serve after a meal or as a treat to be enjoyed during holiday
rituals.It doesn’t require any fancy
ingredients or equipment and can be ready in just over an hour or so.

It’s a basic chocolate cake made with oil for a supremely
moist crumb.I’ve added dried
cranberries that have been soaked overnight in port and a handful of chopped
walnuts for texture.There’s buttermilk
for tenderness and cocoa for some earthy richness.A little bit of cinnamon rounds out the
edges.Dust with a blanket of snowy
powdered sugar and there you have it.A
rich dark cake to celebrate the season.

Here's wishing everyone a very, very happy holiday spent
filled with the gift of loved ones, laughter, joy and great food prepared and
shared together.And my sincerest appreciation for your
wonderful readership throughout this year.Very best to you!

Bench notes:

- I chose Tawny port for soaking the dried cranberries because I think it has the right nutty, fruity notes to complement the chocolate and other components of the cake. Soak
the cranberries overnight to ensure they are fully hydrated.

- Substitute dried cherries for the cranberries if you
prefer.

- To toast walnuts, place them in a single layer on a baking
sheet at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes. They should be slightly fragrant.I chop them into fairly small pieces so they
don’t sink to the bottom of the cake.

- I use undutched natural cocoa powder.

- This cake can also be dressed up with chocolate
glaze:Place the cooled cake on a
cardboard round or removable tart pan bottom.Set it on a cooling rack placed on top of a baking sheet lined with
parchment.Finely chop 5 oz bittersweet chocolate into very small pieces and place in a bowl.Bring 3/4 cup heavy cream and 1 tablespoon
corn syrup to a simmer.Just as it
begins to boil, take off the heat, pour it over the chopped chocolate and let it
sit for about a minute or so. Then stir slowly and gently, starting in the
middle until thoroughly combined and then working outward in concentric circles
until the mixture comes together. To glaze the cake, pour the warm glaze quickly inthe center of the cake and then move out around the edges. Let it run for a few seconds
and then gently jiggle and tap the baking sheet on the work surface to
encourage the glaze to run down the sides of the cake. Let glaze firm up before
serving.

Combine the dried cranberries and the port in a single layer and soak
overnight in a covered container.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.Grease a 9” x 2 1/2” cake pan and line the
bottom with a circle of parchment.

Sift the flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon together.

In a separate bowl, whisk the cocoa and hot water together until smooth.

Whisk the oil, both sugars and eggs and blend well. Add in the cocoa mixture and vanilla.Stir in the dry ingredients in 3 additions,
alternating with half the buttermilk and beginning and ending with the dry
ingredients.Mix just until well
blended.Stir in the soaked cranberries,
any residual port and chopped walnuts.Pour into the prepared pan and gently tap the bottom of the pan a few
times on the work surface to remove any air bubbles.

Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center releases with
a few moist crumbs attached, about 40 - 42 minutes.Cool 10 minutes.Run a thin bladed knife around the edges and
invert the cake.Gently peel off the
parchment and invert again.Cool
completely.Dust with powdered sugar.